How Do We Know?
How do we know that the wind exists? How do we know that the wind exists? Talented lyricist Alan Jay Lerner and musician Frederick Loewe collaborated in writing a musical called “Paint Your Wagon” that premiered in 1951. In that musical, one of the songs – made, perhaps, more famous by the Kingston Trio – was entitled, “They Call the Wind Mariah.” The lyrics of first stanza of that song read as follows:
Away out here they have a name for rain and wind
and fire.
The rain is Tess, the fire's Joe and they call the wind Mariah.
Mariah blows the stars around and sets the clouds a-flyin'.
Mariah makes the mountains sound like folks was out there dyin'.
Mariah. (Mariah). Mariah. (Mariah). They call the wind Mariah.
When I spent recently spent two days at the home of a friend in Temple, I slept in the bedroom of her son, Clifton, who is studying law at this time. I had the opportunity to read an award-winning essay that he wrote entitled, “Wind.” Written as a letter to an extraterrestrial friend named Zeeblefester, it combines seriousness and humor. Here is a portion of the second paragraph of that essay:
On Earth, we have a substance (if it can be defined as a substance) called wind. Wind is a force of air that pushes against us, it comes from no certain direction and ends mysteriously, sometimes lasting for days and sometimes lasting only a few seconds. Wind is invisible, and only its effects such as the swaying of trees or the flying of leaves, can be seen. Wind has no taste, only the taste of whatever substance it might be bearing. Wind usually feels gentle pressing against skin or clothes or hair, but it can be whipped into a great fury by the presence of a storm, beating tirelessly and mercilessly against whatever object might be in this path. Wind is a peaceful sound, usually made audible only by what it presses against.
How do we know that the wind exists? We know – not because we can see it or touch it or taste it – but because we can see… feel… and hear its effects on things around us. How many of us know the sound that the wind makes when it blows through the trees… the unique sound it makes, for example, when it blows through pine trees? How many of us have seen the wind lift something… or, if you have been to Chicago, lift someone… and deposit it… or them… in another place? How many of us have felt a cool breeze in the heat of summer… or the wild fury of the wind during a thunderstorm? Yes. We know that the wind exists. We have a firm and certain knowledge of this.
Nicodemus came to Jesus at night, asking questions about faith. Was it significant that he came at night? Well, some say yes… and some say no. He was a leader of the Jews and he might have lost some of his credibility with the other Jewish leaders if he had been seen coming to Jesus. But there is also the possibility that he came at night to avoid the crowds that surrounded Jesus in the daytime so that he could have an uninterrupted conversation with him.
What was significant was the topic of their conversation. It was about faith. Nicodemus said that he knew that Jesus was a great teacher who had come from God because he (that is Nicodemus) could see the signs and wonders that Jesus had done. This thought of Nicodemus matched the perspective of the crowds around Jesus who also believed in him because of the signs and wonders that he did. But Jesus knew that this kind of faith was a shallow faith… a faith that always seeks confirmation in signs and visions. For Jesus knew that, without the signs and visions, there would be no faith… and people would vacillate.
So, what is faith? According to Calvin, faith is “the firm and certain knowledge of God’s benevolence towards us, founded upon the truth of the freely given promise in Christ, both revealed to our minds and sealed upon our hearts, through the Holy Spirit.” “Firm and certain knowledge” – that’s a tall order! “Firm and certain knowledge.” Not “If you show me a sign today, I’ll believe you today,” but firm and certain knowledge. Where does it come from… this “firm and certain knowledge?” Well, if you follow the rest of Calvin’s thought, it comes from the truth of the promise in Christ that is revealed to us… and is sealed on our hearts by the Holy Spirit. In other words, without the work of the Holy Spirit, we don’t have it... for it is a knowledge that goes beyond what we are capable of on our own.
And that is exactly what Jesus tells Nicodemus. “No one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above” and “no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.” So, does this mean that we are helpless to work out our own salvation? Should we just sit on a couch somewhere and hope that the Holy Spirit will one day hit us on the head with a spiritual 2 X 4? No. You see, God’s benevolence to us, which is sealed upon our hearts by the Holy Spirit, is revealed to us through the freely given promise in Christ. And what is the freely given promise in Christ? The freely given promise in Christ is the heart and soul of the gospel message. The freely given promise in Christ is the story that I tell from the pulpit every Sunday... the one summed up by Jesus in those precious verses that we learned as a child. The freely given promise in Christ is that “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish, but may have eternal life.” And where do we find our only authoritative witness to this freely given promise in Christ? In the Bible. In that book that we all own and many of us seldom read… that book that tells the story of God’s love over and over and over again. If we want to learn of the freely given promise in Christ, all we have to do is to read the Bible. That is why the rallying cry of the Protestant Reformation was “sola scriptura” … the scriptures alone. It is through the scriptures alone that we learn of the freely given promise in Christ. It is in those words that God’s living Word is revealed. That is how we learn of God’s gift to us… a gift given in love to all people… the Love Incarnate in a life poured out on the cross for all people…a gift given to us not because we are perfect. Not because we are beautiful. Not because we are worthy… but simply because we are loved.
Jesus says to Nicodemus, “If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?” This is basically the dilemma of all pastors: “How can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?” Nicodemus came from a legalistic society… one that believed in “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”… and here is Jesus trying to tell him of a God whose love knows no limits… a God whose grace knows no bounds… a God whose redemption is given freely… even to the greatest of sinners. How could Nicodemus possibly understand? (Pause) How could he even begin to comprehend? How can we possibly understand? How can we begin to comprehend… the depth… the height… the breadth… of that love… and the wonder of that gift?
Do I dare to try again to explain? Do I dare to try again to paint you another picture of God’s love… knowing before I begin that it is impossible for me to describe it adequately… knowing that whatever I say will barely scratch the surface of the truth? But I will try, for that is what I am called to do as a pastor… what we are all called to do as Christians… to tell the story of the freely given promise in Christ over and over and over again.
Every year when the Christmas ornaments come out of their closet, there are always a few that have lost their glitter… or have gotten broken… or hang crooked because one piece is missing. But these ornaments are never thrown away. Instead of hiding them from sight, we hang them in a place of honor… on the wall… or on the tree. Why? Because they have a value to us that far exceeds the value of any of the fancier ornaments… they are loved… they are loved for their memories… for the joy they bring to us when we see them. It is not a logical thing… it comes from the heart.
Do you remember the story of the Velveteen Rabbit? “The Velveteen Rabbit” is a story that was written by Margery Williams many years ago about how toys become real. In the story, the velveteen rabbit learns that it is not how beautiful a toy is… or how many different things it can do… or how fancy it is… that makes a toy real. What makes a toy real is the love of a child.
Children will love a toy… or a blanket… or a pacifier… beyond reason. They will love toys that have lost their glass eyes… toys that have lost their velveteen fur… toys that have lost everything that other people might think makes them attractive… or desirable. And children are passionate… and possessive… about the toys that they love. My son, Julian, has a small teddy bear that has been with him since he was a toddler. Teddy in very sad shape… but Teddy has gone everywhere with Julian… buried in his backpack… even to Japan. Not because Teddy is beautiful… not because Teddy has lots of bells and whistles… but because Teddy is loved… loved beyond reason.
You and I are loved… loved beyond reason… by God. Like those treasured Christmas ornaments that are hung in a place of honor every year… like a toy that has lost its eyes and half of its fur… like a special blanket that, though tattered and torn, still lies carefully folded in a box in my closet… Do you understand that God will never… ever… put you out on the garage sale table to be sold? Do you understand that God will never throw you in the back of a pickup and haul you to the dump? Do you understand that God will never leave you behind… and will protest if anyone tries to take you away? And do you understand that God stands at the door… waiting… and waiting… and waiting… for you to knock? That God waits by the telephone for you to call? And, do you understand that, if God sees you coming in the distance… walking slowly…feet dragging in the dust… that God will run meet you… that God will wrap you in his arms… and never let you go again? “How can I tell you of heavenly things, when you don’t even believe me when I tell you of earthly things?” Can you hear Jesus’ frustration when he is talking to Nicodemus? How can I tell you of heavenly things? What does it take for you to believe? What does it take for you to have faith… to have a firm and certain knowledge of God’s benevolence towards us, founded upon the truth of the freely given promise in Christ, both revealed to our minds and sealed upon our hearts, through the Holy Spirit.”
Do you think that Nicodemus got it? What happened to Nicodemus after that conversation with Jesus? Well, in the Gospel of John, we hear about Nicodemus two more times. Once, in chapter 7, when the Pharisees are debating whether to arrest Jesus, Nicodemus… who is also a Pharisee… reminds them of due process under the law. He reminds them that they are not to judge a person without giving them a hearing first. His intervention at that point breaks up the meeting and disperses the rest of the Pharisees, saving Jesus and his disciples… temporarily… from persecution. We hear about Nicodemus again in chapter 19 when Joseph of Arimathea goes to Pontius Pilate to claim the body of Jesus after his crucifixion. Nicodemus comes with Joseph, bringing the myrrh and other spices that were used to embalm the bodies of the dead… carrying – according to the Gospel of John – about 100 pounds of these spices.
Do you think Nicodemus got it? Do you think that Nicodemus finally understood what Jesus was trying to tell him that night? I do. But the question that lies on my heart today is this: Do you get it? Do you understand what John 3:16 really means? What will it take, do you think, for you to get it… for you to believe… for you to have that firm and certain knowledge… for you to have faith? My prayer for you today is that God will continue his work in you… through the power of the Holy Spirit… to reveal the depth… the height… the breadth of God’s love for you… to you during this Lenten season. For you are loved beyond reason. Amen.